Moerstaāl

The poems trace a road home to the poet's origins among the first peoples of Africa's southern tip and are written not in standard Afrikaans but in Goema, a spoken variety close to Kaaps, spelled as it sounds and meant to be read aloud, even chanted. At their heart stands a mother, giver of life, whose hard years cleaning other people's homes, classed as coloured, went unseen, and through her the poems speak about faith, social justice, family and culture. One sequence follows a domestic worker's daily lot; others recall a childhood of fear and hurt, or turn to a beloved child. Some poems mourn what was lost and long for the past; others look ahead, almost like prophecy, and humour runs through many of them.

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About the book

Form

Poetry

Length

96 pages in the original

First published

2022 by Kwela

ISBN

9780795710599 (original)